Shanghai Quartet – Lunar New Year 2023

Lunar New Year is a celebration of the arrival of spring and the beginning of a new year on the lunisolar calendar. It is the most important holiday in China, and it is also widely celebrated in South Korea, Vietnam, and countries with a significant overseas Chinese population. While the official dates encompassing the holiday vary by culture, those celebrating consider it the time of the year to reunite with immediate and extended family.

In keeping with tradition, join us as the Shanghai Quartet performs Beethoven’s Quartet Op. 59, No. 2, and Béla Bartók’s Quartet No.1, Op. 7. This YouTube release will be the Shanghai Quartet’s twenty-eighth performance with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art.
Over the past forty years the Shanghai Quartet has become one of the world’s foremost chamber ensembles. The quartet's elegant style, impressive technique, and emotional breadth allows the group to move seamlessly between masterpieces of Western music, traditional Chinese folk music, and cutting-edge contemporary works. Formed at the Shanghai Conservatory in 1983, soon after the end of China’s harrowing Cultural Revolution, the group came to the United States to complete its studies. The quartet has been based in the U.S. for more than thirty-five years while maintaining a robust touring schedule at leading chamber music series throughout North America, Europe, and Asia.

In September 2020, the Shanghai Quartet moved back to China to join the resident faculty of The Tianjin Juilliard School, becoming one of the only Asia based internationally touring string quartets. In addition to their teaching duties at Tianjin Juilliard, the members of the quartet maintain a busy performance schedule throughout China and together serve as the ensemble-in-residence with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. They are also visiting guest professors at the Shanghai Conservatory and Central Conservatory in Beijing, all while maintaining a robust touring presence in North America and around the world.

This program is part of the Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art’s Lunar New Year 2023 Celebration.

Photo credit: Sophie Zhai